Anne Tyler

‘Three Days In June‘ was Anne Tyler at her best. In the space of a few hours, she crafted an intimate portrait of a woman in her sixites, facing difficult changes in her life, reflecting on her past and considering her future, all while coping with the stresses of preparing for and attending her only daughter’s wedding.

I liked that Gail, in her sixties, knew herself so well and was comfortable with her identity and most of her choices. The few choices that she's not comfortable with, show more she does her best to forget about. Gail knows that she's not as sccial as other people would like her to be but she also knows that that isn't going to change.

This being an Anne Tyler novella, Gail's carefully maintained sense of balance is stress-tested to the limit over three days in June. She acquires a grumpy old cat she tells everyone she neither wants of needs. She quits her job after taking offence at not being promoted. She is negotiating all the traumas associated with her only daughter marrying into a family with very different expectations of how a wedding should work She's forced into bringing her ex-husband into her house for the duration of the wedding. Like her, he's grown older but he hasn't really changed. She is reminded of the reasons that she loved him and the things that drove her crazy about him. Hardest of all, she's forced to remember some of her choices that she normally chooses to forget.

There was no high drama in this novella . No dead bodies. No gaslighting. No evil villains. Just real people with real lives trying to do the best they can. It was wonderful.

I recommend the audiobook. It’s four hours and twnety-four minutes long and I listened to it in a single sitting. J. Smith Cameron’s narration made the prose shine. Her tone was a perfect match for the personality of Gail Baines, the main character: slightly dry, sometimes judgemental, sometimes funny, always trying to be honest with herself about how her day was going. show less

The novel opens with Pearl Tull on her deathbed, attended by her son, Ezra. She fades in and out, lost in memories of years gone by. Born in the early 20th century, Pearl married and had three children. Her husband Beck earned his living as a salesman; frequent transfers required the young family to relocate on short notice. Pearl’s life was focused on her children and she had no social connections to speak of. When Beck up and left them all, she had no one to fall back on. But she show more managed.

Or so it seemed. In fact, Pearl’s end-of-life reverie was highly unreliable. While Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant initially appears to be the story of a quirky family, its dark side soon becomes apparent. Eldest son Cody is charming on the outside but inside is calculating and cruel, especially towards his brother Ezra. Jenny, the youngest, becomes a doctor but her personal life is a mess. And Ezra, the peace-keeping middle child, remains in Baltimore with his mother while working at the restaurant he eventually comes to own. Ezra repeatedly attempts to bring the family together by hosting elaborate dinners at the restaurant, which suffer under the weight of his perfectionism, shared family trauma, and the dysfunctional behaviors of every other family member.

The lives of each sibling unfold in alternating chapters, each a brilliant character study that also moves the plot along. I despised Cody and found Ezra and Jenny likeable, if flawed. The novel ends with Pearl’s funeral, where one particular loose end is resolved but much of the family’s future remains uncertain. I was actually glad Tyler didn’t fall back on a neat and tidy ending. There was no way this family was going to reverse the damage done to them, but they can move forward step by step, day by day. show less

Ah, Anne Tyler, a practical romantic before romantasy even existed. She's been writing mostly about the good white suburban people of Baltimore since 1964, and has specialized in angry women and kooky men for most of her career, with brilliantly incisive results. Tyler is in her mid-eighties now and this novel is more relaxed and in slo-mo style, and is, as usual, a warm joy. Gail Baines and her ex-husband Max are united for the weekend of their daughter Debbie's wedding, and there are some show more unsettling incidents: a homeless cat, a possibly adulterous fiancé, and a job loss. Tyler does a fine job of wrapping up the package into a neat bundle, without shocks or twists, and does a heart good, as always. show less

Pearl Tull is looking back on her life with her three (now adult) children. Her husband walked out on the family when the children were young, and she found herself ill-equipped to cope. She carried on as if nothing had happened, not even telling the children that their father was gone. The narrative follows the lives of the three siblings – Cody, Ezra, and Jenny. It is a tale of a dysfunctional family that portrays how siblings remember the same events differently.

Set in Maryland mostly show more in the 1940s to 1980s, this is a story of life and a family, the passage of time, and the importance of communication. The author explores the ramifications of abandonment, with the three siblings trying to deal with it the best they can. Cody is aggressive, rebellious, and jealous of his brother. Ezra is the peacemaker who tries to heal the conflicts through food. Jenny engages in a series of failed relationships, eventually finding one where she feels needed.

The characters are deftly drawn, complete with strengths and flaws. The point of view switches among the siblings to provide the reader with a psychological portrait of each. This method allows the reader to gain a fuller understanding of the situation by viewing it from multiple perspectives. It is a quiet, reflective book. The main highlight for me is that by the end I felt I knew these people. I have read other books by Anne Tyler and this one is my favorite by far.

“Everything,' his father said, 'comes down to time in the end--to the passing of time, to changing. Ever thought of that? Anything that makes you happy or sad, isn't it all based on minutes going by? Isn't sadness wishing time back again?”

4.5 show less